The present invention relates to a guide member, a guide assembly, a system and a method for separating a viscera set eviscerated from slaughtered poultry.
Viscera separation is an important part of the poultry slaughtering process. The two most important parameters are speed and quality. Modern poultry slaughtering systems are capable of operating at processing speeds of above 200 birds per minute. As the value of the systems is directly proportional with their processing speed, even a small increase in the processing speed may be very valuable. However, an increase in the processing speed should not result in a corresponding decrease in the quality of the separation.
One particular important part of the viscera separation process is the separation between edible and non-edible parts. Typically, the intestines and gallbladder are perceived as non-edible parts, whereas the liver, heart and gizzard are perceived as edible parts. Especially, the separation of the gallbladder from the liver is challenging, as the gallbladder contains bile that may contaminate the edible parts of the viscera set if the separation is not done properly.
WO0033661 discloses a method and an apparatus for separating viscera sets, wherein viscera sets suspended from holders under the influence of gravity are inserted between stationary horizontal guide plates in such a way that the proventriculus, gizzard, heart, lung and liver are disposed over the guide plates, and that the intestine pack including the gallbladder is disposed at the underside of the guide plates. The intestine pack is clamped between clip brackets rotating about a reversing wheel. The clip brackets are successively displaced downward for exerting a downward directed pull in the intestine pack while the intestine pack passes by a rotating cutter, cutting free the intestine pack. The remaining parts of the viscera set, including proventriculus, gizzard, heart, lungs and liver, are passed on to a second apparatus for further separation.
In some cases, however, a part of the liver is pulled below the stationary guide plates, where it will be cut off and discarded together with the gallbladder and the intestines, and in other cases the gallbladder is either punctured or not separated from the liver. This is particularly the case when the natural variations in the different parts of the viscera set are relatively high.
Thus, it remains a problem to provide a method and/or system allowing a more precise separation at high processing speeds of viscera sets suspended from viscera holders, where the intestines and gallbladder are separated from the remaining viscera set.